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Former the fashion retailer top executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his British partner how they were finished and in grave danger if he was deemed competent to face trial on human trafficking charges in the coming months, a New York federal court has learned.

The taped conversations were part of more than 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day mental competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is coping with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their purported middleman in October.

However, prosecutors argue their doctors found his mental state has stabilized and that the recordings show he is remarkably fixated on being found unfit.

In other recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, describing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and says to a doctor: you better rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court heard.

Judicial Process and Psychiatric Opinions

The recordings were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for several months in a mental health unit at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could regain competency.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed not competent last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was able for proceedings after his evaluation.

The prosecution told the judge Jeffries repeatedly protested incarceration and was heard telling to Smith how awful jail was, stating: so we have to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a worldwide trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which could result in a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their detentions came after an investigation that showed the three had been at the core of a complex network sourcing young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the testimony of several professionals - experts, specialists and brain specialists, including correctional physicians - who were examined in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

Several defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a head injury, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and off-color behaviour, which is part of a set of symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also heard in minute detail on approximately 20 prison calls talking about his travel itinerary for the next few months, despite having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard saying to Smith from prison.

The prosecution suggest this indicates his recognition that he would be released if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dismissed.

However, the defense's witnesses disagree, stating it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the seriousness of the case.

"I didn't see the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such grave allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor during the assessment... was similar to we were having a meal at his country club. There was no sense of distress."

Diverging Psychiatric Opinions

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' mental decline commenced in 2013, when tests showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he continued drinking after being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his health.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was fit after observing him over an extended period in prison.

They contend his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for fitness," said one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the court, was described as cheerful and quite personable during interactions in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using informal language.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Concerns

Central to assessing competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial